


Night Terrors

by eerian_sadow



Series: Sparkeaters and Other Walking Dead [3]
Category: Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Energy Vampirism, Other, Zombies, soul vore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-22
Updated: 2012-04-22
Packaged: 2017-11-04 04:02:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/389533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eerian_sadow/pseuds/eerian_sadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a certain kind of night, the Spark Eaters come out to hunt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Night Terrors

**Author's Note:**

> written for the LJ community transficsation‘s 2011 Scary Story challenge.
> 
> Many, many thanks to wicked3659 for feeding the bunny, helping me map out the plot and correcting my migraine induced rambling. This fic is a monster (literally!), but it’s been a heck of a ride. And there’s certainly the possibility of a sequel next Halloween…

Ironhide watched closely as Ratchet and Jolt rolled into the hanger. He scanned them, checking closely for signs of damage before signaling the soldier at the controls to close the doors. He suppressed a shudder as the heavy metal sealed out the night.

“You okay, big guy?” Lennox asked. “You’re pretty tense.”

“It’s too quiet, too hot and too still,” the weapons specialist replied. “Nights like this aren’t safe for anyone.”

“Not safe?” Will gave him a quizzical look. “Hide, we’ve been through a hundred nights like this.”

“Not like this,” Ironhide replied. “Megatron himself wouldn’t go out on a night like this.”

The human frowned. “Look, Ironhide, you’re not making a lot of sense here. _What_ is wrong out there?”

“The conditions are right for things out of nightmare,” Ratchet said, rolling up beside them and transforming. “This is the sort of night when the Spark Eaters come out.”

“Spark Eaters?” Lennox looked from one mech to the other, taking in their serious expressions. “Do I even want to know?”

“No,” the weapons specialist said firmly.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Clawed fingers carefully manipulated the wiring in the electric lock, shorting circuits and re-routing currents until the door slid open. Their owner smiled faintly when the door slid open, revealing a dimly lit hallway. The hands dropped away from the ruined lock and gripped the doorframe instead.

With careful maneuvering, the being dragged himself inside the Autobot base, seeking sustenance.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Prime and Sideswipe have reported in from Hanger B,” Captain Graham said, handing Lennox a clipboard containing the day’s paperwork. “Arcee’s squad called in from the North bunker with an all secure status and Longarm has reported that he and the twins are in the supply room, inventorying the new supplies. The prisoner is secure and Optimus said to tell Ironhide that everyone is safe.”

“Right.” Will thumbed through the papers before signing the last few pages. “Thank you, Captain. I’ll let Ironhide know. You sit on the twins and Longarm tonight and make sure they don’t screw up anything he’s doing right.”

“Yes, sir,” Graham replied. “Major, is it just me or are the Autobots jumpier than usual tonight?”

“Some kind of cultural thing,” Lennox replied. “I’m sure they’ll be fine in the morning.”

“If you say so, Major.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The lighting in the hall increased as he made his was further into the base, along with the smell of both sustenance and humans. The small beings could be a problem if he ran into any, but the prospect of feeding--for the first time in longer than he cared to think about--overrode his concerns about them. He would deal with the humans if he encountered any.

Determined--and _hungry_ \--he made his way further down the hall.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

After the end of a long shift, Lennox made his way into the medbay and flopped down into one of the human-sized chairs there. For the next several hours, the base and the prisoner in their make-shift brig were Optimus’ problem--unless something went unexpectedly to hell. It was as good a time as any to finally get his answers.

“So, Ratchet. Tell me about these Spark Eaters. Why do they spook Ironhide so much?”

The medic gave the human a long look before he replied. “Spark eaters are similar to many of the supernatural creatures in your mythology. They are indistinguishable from other members of our race until they feed upon the living sparks of their victims. They drain the life energy of other Cybertronians until they deactivate, using it as fuel for their own systems. Their victims rise again as mindless cannibals within a few Earth hours.”

“Creepy.” Will didn’t miss the connection to vampires and zombies at all. “But they’re not real, right? I mean, we don’t actually _have_ to worry about these things infesting the base, right?”

“I wish I could say that, Major.” Ratchet shook his head and looked away from the major. “But they are hardly stories. Spark Eaters are quite real, and very much a potential threat, even here on Earth. Ironhide and Jazz encountered one of them, very early in the war. Neither of them were the same after the encounter.”

Lennox went pale at Ratchet’s words. “They’re _real_? And here? And Ironhide’s met one?”

“I cannot be certain any Spark Eaters are present on Earth, but it is possible. We know of at least two within Megatron’s ranks.” Ratchet made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a sigh. “They are not normally a threat beyond their combat abilities, but under certain conditions they gain the urge to feed. Tonight, Ironhide’s fear is not unfounded.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He had heard the humans coming--two of them, talking as they walked down the hallway--long enough before he saw them that he had a chance to find a place to hide. He was angry to be pulled off his hunt, but staying hidden and safe was more important. Even if his current prey moved, there was no shortage of sustenance in this place.

He dangled above their heads when they came into the hall, claws tangled into the support beams of the ceiling. Part of him wanted to simply kill them and remove the obstacle between him and his prey. Another part of him insisted that would be a terrible course of action. The conflict in programming kept him hanging above them for several groons after they had inspected the hall, made a report and left.

When he could finally move again he stayed in the rafters, trading speed for stealth and concealment.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“You could have just told me,” Will said, stepping inside the small cubical that served as Ironhide’s private quarters. 

The Autobot didn‘t look away from the canon he was cleaning. “You wouldn’t have believed me.”

“Hide, after some of the things I’ve seen since I met you, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have just assumed you were bullshitting me.” Lennox crossed the room and stood next to the large mech. “Besides, you’re not the kind of guy who’s afraid of make-believe monsters.”

“No, just the real ones,” Ironhide admitted softly. “It was a long time ago when it happened, but it’s burned in my processor like it was yesterday.”

“I don’t doubt it.” the human laid a comforting hand on his friend’s leg. “So, what happened?”

The weapons specialist was silent for a long moment. “Jazz and I were sent to gather intel from a nearby Decepticon base. We were young and foolish then and didn’t believe the old stories. If we had, we never would have been out that night. But we were, and we paid for it by being caught when we strayed too far into Starscream’s hunting territory. Not even Jazz’s sensor suite picked him up before he was on us.”

“Wait.” Lennox frowned. “ _Starscream_ is one of these Spark Eaters? Why hasn’t anyone prioritized taking him out yet?”

“Starscream has always been more of a threat to the Decepticons in that respect. Tactically, it was sound to allow him to prey on his own troops every few meta-cycles while we hid. He had never been a real threat to the Autobots until Jazz and I were captures, and he hasn’t been one since.” Ironhide shuddered as he spoke. “If it were up to me, he would have been smelted long ago.”

“Right.” Will was no stranger to bullshit tactics from the higher ups. “Obviously he didn’t kill you, though. What happened?”

“He led us for almost a vorn, using us a living fuel sources.” The mech’s hands tightened their grip on the canon he was holding. “Instead of hunting or feeding on his own troops, he took just enough from each of us to fuel himself without depleting our sparks.”

“My God,” the human said softly.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He could hear his prey below him, caged in a tiny room. Only one door led in, and it was flanked by a pair of guards. His prey was pacing the small space, searching for any weaknesses in the cell. 

The smell of sustenance filled his sensors and demanded that he pounce immediately, but he retained enough control to keep himself in check. He could not handle two guards and his prey tonight and hope to get away. He would have to be much more cautious.

He smiled when he spotted the ventilation system.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Ironhide had set the canon as he talked, as his hands began to shake and he couldn’t stop himself from clenching them into fists. “Sometimes he treated us like pets. He cleaned us, groomed us and fed us the highest quality energon. Sometimes we were just laboratory specimens. He fed us toxic chemicals, laced our internal components with additives that changed our core composition and dripped noxious fluid into our sparks between feedings. 

“More than once, I wished he had just killed us.”

Will had to swallow several times before he trusted his voice to be steady. “How did you get away?” 

“We didn’t. The fragger poisoned our energon one day, then dumped us outside the Autobot base.” Ironhide cycled air through his intakes and tried to steady his shaking. “Ratchet almost lost us more than once.” 

“I,” Lennox said, voice cold, “Am going to kill him.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

He was almost too wide to fit into the air duct but he managed. Fortunately, it hadn’t been a long crawl from his entry point to the cell; the scraping noises he made when he moved would have given him away over a long distance. 

His prey didn’t give any sign of having heard his movements over the sound of its own angry footsteps, nor did it react as he began peeling back the grating over the vent. Really, his prey was making it all too easy.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

Barricade paced the windowless cubical the Autobots were holding him in angrily. He had been so _stupid_ to get himself caught, and then to allow them to imprison him in this box. He was better than this, but lack of proper fuel had made him slow and clumsy. He punched the door--magnetically sealed, so that he had no hope of prying it open on his own-- as he passed it, hoping to rile his guards up enough that they opened it and gave him an escape route but he got nothing but stinging pain for his troubles.

Either they couldn’t hear him or they just didn’t give a frag about him.

Annoyed with the lack of response, the Decepticon stalked across the room to the tiny platform they’d given him to recharge on. It wasn’t luxurious, or really even comfortable, but it was better than some of the hiding places he had used after Megatron’s destruction. Recharge--real recharge, not the broken cycles he had snatched while on the run--might help him figure a way out of his current mess.

He flopped down on the berth, curled on his side and facing the door. As he relaxed, he became vaguely aware of something being… off. Like he was being watched. But he could see the entire cell from his position, and no one else was in the room. Not unless the Autobot with the cloaking device had finally shown up, anyway.

The feeling of being watched didn’t dissipate after he checked the room. 

Barricade realized, with a slow, creeping dread, that he had made an Autobot mistake when the feeling intensified. He had checked the room, but he hadn’t looked up. Slowly, he tipped his head up.

And met the gaze of a pair of flat, purple optics.

He barely restrained a scream when he saw them. He knew those optics; he had seen them more than once when Starscream went out to hunt, though they had never been directed toward him. He opened his mouth to call for help, not sure if the Autobots would even hear him as the Spark Eater dropped from the ventilation shaft.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

His prey might not have given him much of a fight, but it tasted delicious. He wished he had been able to spend time savoring this meal, but the guards would check their prisoner soon, and he had to be gone when that happened.

But first, he had one more small thing to take care of before he left.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Lennox took the long route to the beach for his morning workout, past the cell where Barricade was being held. Ironhide followed him, more composed now than he had been the night before.

“Prisoner status?” He looked at the guards stationed at the cell’s door.

“All’s quiet, sir. Seems like he finally went down for recharge last night.”

“Even ‘Cons have to rest sometime,” Ironhide said.

Will nodded. “Yeah, but we gotta check anyway. Open the door.”

“Yes, sir.” The first guard turned to the control panel while the second stepped away from the door to cover the entrance in case Barricade tried to escape, as unlikely as that idea was with Ironhide in the hall.

The major had only a moment to register that something was _not right_ before Barricade lunged at them. He dropped to the ground as the second soldier opened fire and Ironhide primed his cannons. The first soldier wasn’t so lucky, and Barricade grabbed him.

The man screamed as the Cybertronian shoved part of him in his mouth and bit down.

There was a brief silence as both Ironhide and the remaining soldier were stunned into not firing. It was broken by the Decepticon biting off another piece of the dead man. Then the weapons specialist roared with fury and opened fire.

Lennox got his first good look at Barricade as the remains of the mech flew backward. Ironhide’s blast had all but vaporized his head, but that didn’t account for the mangled chest plates. Or that fact that, from the waist down, all his parts were missing.

When Barricade stopped twitching, Ironhide dropped to his knees with a hoarse cry. “No! No, no, _no!_ “

Shaken by what he had seen in ways that fighting guerrilla troops, terrorists or giant alien robots never had, Will had to try twice before his voice would work. “Hide? Was that…?”

The mech nodded slowly. 

“Shit.”


End file.
